Freshness

How to spell freshness

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce freshness

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does freshness mean?

1. nounThe quality or state of being new, clean, or recently made.

Freshness in a sentence

• The bakery prides itself on the freshness of its morning loaves.

• Sealing the jar properly preserves the freshness of the coffee.

Where does freshness come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word freshness is built on the adjective fresh, which descends from the Old English fersc, meaning 'unsalted' or 'pure', a description first applied to water that was not seawater. This Germanic root has cousins across the family, including the Old High German frisc and the modern German frisch, all carrying the idea of something new or not stale. English added the native suffix -ness, which has been used since Anglo-Saxon times to turn an adjective into a noun naming a state or quality, so freshness simply means the quality of being fresh. The sense broadened over the centuries from purity of water to the newness of food, air, and ideas. The spelling is regular, though the doubled letters where -sh meets -ness can briefly trip up a writer who is moving quickly.

How the word is built

• fresh (new, recently made)
• -ness (noun-forming suffix denoting a state or quality)